The Fruit of Devotion: When Witness Becomes Costly

What would it take for you to stop talking about Jesus? A threat to your reputation? Your job? Your life?

In Acts 6-8, we encounter Stephen—a man who understood something profound about Christian identity that we’ve largely forgotten. When we call him the first Christian martyr, we miss the revolutionary truth: the word “martyr” simply means “witness.” Stephen wasn’t exceptional because he died; he was faithful because he understood what every believer is called to be.

This Sunday, we explored how Stephen’s story isn’t about one extraordinary man’s sacrifice—it’s about God’s pattern for advancing His kingdom through faithful witnesses who count the cost and speak anyway.

The True Meaning of Being a Witness

When Jesus declared in Acts 1:8, “You will be my witnesses,” He literally said, “You will be my martyrs.” This wasn’t a call to an elite group of super-Christians. This was—and is—the fundamental calling of every believer.

Stephen grasped this completely. Full of grace and power, he performed signs and wonders among the people. When religious leaders couldn’t refute his wisdom, they resorted to false accusations, dragging him before the Sanhedrin. They accused him of blasphemy against Moses and the temple—serious charges that warranted death.

But notice Stephen’s response. He didn’t defend himself or try to negotiate his way out. Instead, he seized the opportunity to bear witness to Christ. With his life hanging in the balance, Stephen chose proclamation over preservation.

The Pattern of Rejection and Faithfulness

Stephen’s lengthy sermon before the Sanhedrin wasn’t just a history lesson—it was a prophetic indictment. He traced through Israel’s history, showing a consistent pattern: God sends deliverers, and His people reject them.

Abraham left everything to follow God’s promise. Joseph was sold into slavery by his own brothers. Moses was rejected by the very people he came to rescue, with them saying, “Who made you a ruler and judge over us?” The prophets were persecuted and killed by those who should have received their message.

Stephen’s point was devastating in its clarity: “You are doing just as your fathers did.” The religious leaders who prided themselves on preserving Moses’ law and honoring the prophets were actually following in the footsteps of those who rejected God’s messengers. And ultimately, they had murdered the Righteous One—Jesus Christ—whom all the prophets had announced.

When Truth Provokes Violence

“When they heard this, they were cut to the quick.” The truth didn’t produce repentance; it produced rage. They couldn’t refute Stephen’s biblical argument. They couldn’t deny the historical pattern he outlined. So they did what those who reject truth often do—they turned to violence.

The scene Luke paints is almost absurdly childish: grown men covering their ears, crying out with loud voices, rushing at Stephen with one impulse. They literally acted like children shouting “La, la, la, I can’t hear you!” Yet these were the religious authorities, the guardians of the law they claimed to revere.

But Stephen, being full of the Holy Spirit, saw something they couldn’t see. He gazed into heaven and witnessed Jesus standing at the right hand of God. Think about the significance of this—kings don’t stand for their subjects. Yet here was Christ, rising to receive His faithful witness.

The Multiplication of Witness Through Suffering

As stones crashed against Stephen’s body, he prayed two prayers that echo his Master’s words from the cross: “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit” and “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” Even in death, Stephen bore witness to the transforming power of the gospel—praying for his murderers as they killed him.

We might expect this brutal execution to crush the early church’s spirit. After all, if speaking about Jesus gets you stoned to death, wouldn’t wisdom suggest keeping quiet?

But look what actually happened: “A great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria.” And here’s the remarkable part: “Those who had been scattered went about preaching the word.”

The persecution didn’t silence the church—it mobilized it. Every scattered believer became what Stephen was: a witness willing to testify regardless of the cost. The very persecution meant to destroy the church’s testimony multiplied it exponentially. Jesus had said His witnesses would go from Jerusalem to Judea and Samaria. Persecution became the means of fulfilling that promise.

The Comfortable Christianity That Can’t Be Persecuted

This historical account confronts our modern reality with uncomfortable questions. Today, statistics show that less than half of Christians have shared the gospel with a non-Christian in the past six months. We have freedoms the early church couldn’t imagine, yet we remain largely silent.

Why? Perhaps because we’ve created a version of Christianity designed to avoid any discomfort. We’ve edited the message, removing all the offensive parts. We don’t call for repentance—that’s too harsh. We don’t talk about sin—that’s too negative. We don’t proclaim Christ’s exclusivity—that’s too narrow-minded.

But here’s the sobering truth: a Christianity that costs nothing accomplishes nothing. The version of faith we’ve crafted to avoid persecution could never be persecuted because it threatens nothing and challenges no one. Who persecutes someone who just smiles and tells everyone they’re okay as they are?

Stephen bore witness to the whole message, and it cost him everything. But God used that faithfulness to spread the gospel beyond Jerusalem’s walls. The fruit of his devotion wasn’t comfort or safety—it was a multiplication of bold witnesses who continued the mission despite having just watched an innocent man’s brutal execution.

What Fruit Is Your Devotion Bearing?

The early church’s devotion to the apostles’ teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayer produced something specific: believers who would witness even unto death. Their discipleship process created Christians who scattered under persecution but kept preaching.

What does our discipleship produce? If we’re honest, often it produces consumers rather than witnesses, people who ask what the church can do for them rather than how they can advance Christ’s kingdom.

The question isn’t whether you’re as gifted as Stephen or as bold as the apostles. The question is simpler and more profound: Are you a witness? Not will you be one someday when you’re more prepared, more knowledgeable, more confident. But are you bearing testimony to Christ now, in whatever sphere God has placed you?

Challenging Questions for Application

Are you willing to be a witness even when it’s uncomfortable?

We say we’d die for our faith, but we won’t even speak up for Christ at family dinners. What makes us think we’ll become bolder when persecution increases if we don’t use the freedom we have now?

What kind of disciples are you making?

Are you participating in raising up the next generation of witnesses? Or are we fostering a Christian culture that prioritizes comfort over calling?

What authority have you assumed to edit God’s message?

Where have you softened the gospel to make it more palatable? Remember: none of us has the authority to edit what God has spoken. Softening the gospel is unfaithfulness to God, period.

The Promise in the Persecution

Stephen’s story reminds us that God uses our faithfulness for His glory, even when—especially when—that faithfulness is costly. Stephen didn’t live to see the fruit of his witness, but we can. His death catalyzed a movement that would eventually reach the ends of the earth.

God is worthy of our praise in both blessing and suffering. He used Pentecost’s blessing to grow the church in Jerusalem. He used persecution’s suffering to scatter it to Judea and Samaria. Both accomplish His purposes. Both require faithful witnesses regardless of the cost.

The same Holy Spirit who filled Stephen fills every believer today. The same calling Jesus gave the apostles extends to us. We are witnesses—martyrs in the truest sense. Not necessarily called to die for our faith, but called to live as those willing to bear testimony regardless of the cost.

The fruit of devotion isn’t measured in comfort gained but in witnesses multiplied. What fruit is your devotion bearing?

Listen to the full sermon here: The Fruit of Devotion – Acts 6:8-8:4

Preached November 2, 2025 at Howell Bible Church